Public Events at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress offers these events to the public at its Washington, D.C. location free of charge, except where otherwise noted. Schedules are subject to change. Check back to this site for the latest information. Individuals requiring accommodations for this event are requested to submit a request at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (MGM, 1925)
The son of a rich businessman joins the army when America enters World War I and is sent to France. He becomes friends with working-class soldiers and falls in love with a Frenchwoman, but has to leave her to move to the front line. The fact that "The Big Parade" was the first war film told from the doughboys rather than the officers perspective helped explain its enormous popularity. Named to the National Film Registry in 1992, this silent drama was directed by King Vidor and stars John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. Live musical accompaniment will be performed by Donald Sosin.Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

Event

August 30, 2014, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.The Library of Congress National Book Festival, now in its 14th year, features a wealth of notable authors and new this year evening activities and expanded genre pavilions. Location: Walter E. Washington Convention CenterContact: (202) 707-1940

Film

August 1, 2014, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.In this animation program geared more toward an adult audience, the way sound effects and music work together to communicate the filmmakers vision will be explored. The first half will include the opening scene from WALL"E (Disney, 2008), followed by several shorts including "Gerald McBoing-Boing" (UPA, 1950), which was added to the National Film Registry in 1995. The second part of the program will cover abstract and avant-garde animation and feature works by Len Lye and Oskar Fischinger. It will be followed by the 30-minute impressionistic "The Man Who Planted Trees," which won an Academy Award for best short film animation in 1988. Part of the Film Foundations "Story of the Movies: The Animation Universe" development workshop for classroom teachers, this presentation is open to the public.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 1, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (Sony Picture Classics, 2003)
Madame Souza goes on a quest to rescue her grandson Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, who has been kidnapped by the French mafia. She is assisted by her obese hound Bruno and the Triplets of Belleville, music hall singers from the 1930s. Sylvain Chomet wrote and directed this charming tale that is told primarily through song and pantomime. It received Oscar nominations for best animated feature and best music for the original song "Belleville Rendez-vous."
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 2, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (New World, 1984)
After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaa, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth. Famed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki also wrote this animated post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure, based on his own 1982 manga (Japanese comic) of the same name. The film frequently ranked among the best animated films in Japan and is seen as a seminal influence on the development of anime. Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 7, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.(Continental Distributing, 1937)
Jean Renoir directed this classic treatise on war, focusing on French prisoners and their cultured German commandant. Jean Gabin and Pierre Fresnay star as the World War I French aviators from dissimilar social backgrounds who plot an escape, with Erich von Stroheim as the upper-class German officer. The French title "La Grande Illusion" was the first foreign-language film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Sixty years later, renowned film critic Janet Maslin called it "one of the most haunting of all war films."
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 8, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (Universal, 1930)
This vivid, poignant adaptation of Erich Maria Remarques eloquent pacifist novel about German boys experiences as soldiers during World War I won Academy Awards for best picture and best direction by Lewis Milestone. Starring Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Raymond Griffith and Slim Summerville, the film was restored in 1998 by the Library of Congress and added to the National Film Registry in 1990.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 9, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (MGM, 1925)
The son of a rich businessman joins the army when America enters World War I and is sent to France. He becomes friends with working-class soldiers and falls in love with a Frenchwoman, but has to leave her to move to the front line. The fact that "The Big Parade" was the first war film told from the doughboys rather than the officers perspective helped explain its enormous popularity. Named to the National Film Registry in 1992, this silent drama was directed by King Vidor and stars John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. Live musical accompaniment will be performed by Donald Sosin.Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 14, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.(Twentieth Century Fox, 1942)
The Office of War Information (OWI) and Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall commissioned this first film in the "Why We Fight" propaganda film series. Directed by Frank Capra, it was produced to assure American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis powers during World War II. The film won the Academy Award for best documentary, and the entire series was added to the National Film Registry in 2000. The 52-minute feature will be preceded by a number of short subjects that were made prior to the breakout of global war.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 15, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.(Universum Film, 1935)
Director Leni Riefenstahls infamous documentary on the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg contains excerpts from speeches given by Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess and Julius Streicher, interposed with footage of Nazi troops and public reaction. Praised for its innovative cinematography, it is regarded as the greatest propaganda film of all time and is both fascinating and frightening to see.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 16, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.(Warner Bros., 1939)
Submarine officer Jerry Harrington (John Payne) goes to Pensacola to train as a flying cadet, just like his brother Cass (George Brent), a longtime airman. Competition escalates between the two when Jerry falls for his brothers girlfriend, Irene (Olivia de Havilland). Like many of the Warner Bros. features in the pre-World War II era, it was intended to serve as propaganda for the U.S. military and received support from the U.S. Navy, which considered the film as a recruiting tool. It shows how, despite the general isolationist stance of the country at the time, America was preparing for war in its own way.Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 21, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.(Columbia, 1945)
The Hoosier Hot Shotscreators of madcap "rural midwestern jazz"Mary Beth Hughes and the Cappy Barra Boys Harmonica Band, and Spade Cooley and his western swing band provide several toe-tapping tunes in this musical comedy about show biz hopefuls on a Western ranch. The Three Stooges also appear, with Moe playing it straight and Larry and Curly acting as a team.Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 22, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.(Live Event)
A blend of western swing, vintage country, bluegrass, Texas-style fiddling, jazz and swing standards will be presented on the Packard Theater stage, performed by Joey McKenzie and His Western Flyers. The Flyers consist of Katie Glassman, a two-time national fiddle champion and vintage-style singer, and Gavin Kelso, a world-class upright bass player. On May 10, 2013, McKenzie and Kelso performed in the first-ever live music concert in the Packard Campus Theater as part of the Quebe Sisters Band.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 23, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.(Columbia, 1944)
Lucky Rawlins, foreman of the Bar W ranch, finds himself cheated out of a check for $12,000, the proceeds from a cattle drive. The culprit is the local banker, Cash Watson (John Maxwell), who has learned that the railroad is interested in buying up the local ranches and it is up to Lucky to expose his dastardly deed.Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 28, 2014, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.The first in a new series at the Packard Theater, this unique film-going experience will provide only the genre and rating for a rarely seen title. Additional clues will be provided at the screenings during the slide presentations. The first clues for the month are: A color crime-comedy with music, rated PG and shown in a 35 mm print. This film has never been released on home video of any kind.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Packard Campus BuildingContact: (202) 707-9994

August 13, 2014, Noon - 1 p.m.Ahmet Karamustafa of the University of Maryland gives a talk on "The Persian Book in Pre-Modern Turkey."Location: African/Middle Eastern Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson BuildingContact: (202) 707-4815

August 20, 2014, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.The panelists will explain how materials are prepared and selected for exhibitions and educational-outreach curriculum. Speakers will include Nathan Dorn, rare book curator in the Law Library of Congress; Stephen Wesson, an educational resource specialist in the Office of Strategic Initiatives; and Holly Krueger, head of the Paper Conservation Section in the Preservation Directorate.Location: Pickford Theater, Third floor, James Madison BuildingContact: (202) 707-5355